This recipe may have a long name but it is all about simple, wholesome ingredients that together make a delicious cake for breakfast or tea time. I like to imagine it´s almost like turning my breakfast bowl into a cake!!

Almost a month and a half of spring already gone by, and I am still feeling as if it just started. The leaves on the trees are the only reminder of the season, which has been upto now wearier than winter, almost like a second fall. And maybe because of the moody weather, I rather crave to bake the kind of cake I would not this time of the year. Though this weekend looks as if our luck is about to change!

This recipe is a variation of my favorite apple almond cake and is the perfect match for a cup of tea or coffee shared in good company. It almost has no wheat flour which I replaced with oat flour, for those seeking a healthier diet.

I used a DIY oat flour with my regular all purpose flour. As I mentioned in my recipe for oat cinnamon sticky toffee buns it is as simple as grabbing the food processor and pulsing, transforming regular rolled oats into fine oat flour.

These small golden, nut packed, almost flourless cups can make a delicious breakfast. They are like a white canvas, you can pair them with whatever you like most: cream cheese, whipped cream, assorted fruit or just a sprinkle of icing sugar.

I make this pie with an extra thin pastry, the same I use for the strudel or my knishes. This time I chose to mix the apples with blueberries, but I often combine them with raisins and walnuts. They combine well with gooseberries if you have any at hand. I like the tartness of Granny Smiths, but you could choose any other kind if you like it sweeter.

It is amazing how time flies! I can hardly believe I have been doing this foodblogging "thing" for two years already. My greatest joy is sharing with all those who care to read my recipes and bring happiness to their tables through them.

This small nook on the web has given me some beautiful friends and acquainted me with a lot of worthy people around the globe. Though I am not posting much, I shall try to keep it up, because it is just wonderful being around!!

I am leaving below the kind of recipe I enjoy most: quick, simple, for our everyday delight, to enjoy with family and friends.

Making buns is always a challenge. As I have said in previous posts I am fond of yeasted doughs and find they are the best to bake. I prefer them over cakes and loaves and any other sweet treats. These buns are a little different though. I used a DIY oat flour with my regular all purpose flour. How did I manage? As simple as grabbing the food processor and pulsing, transforming regular rolled oats into fine oat flour.

The sticky toffee sauce is altogether a different subject. I have done caramel sauce before but this recipe is superb. I learned it from watching one of Mark Bittman's videos, cooking with pastry chef Claudia Fleming, though I adapted the measurements to my recipe needs.

Though adding the toffee sauce is not an everyday treat, the buns are a good choice for a special breakfast or coffee break. Special enough to start my children's deserved school winter holidays in a cozy way.

I was inspired by an article I read about the search for the perfect blueberry muffin. Reading the article I realized that maybe my perfect muffin would be something like my lemon blueberry crumb loaf only more cakey, yet moist, with a tight crumb. The good tip in the article was to fill the muffin molds with one third batter, one third blueberry and the last third with crumble.

It has been a while since my last post. I have been very busy lately and with very little time to have a quiet moment to post any of the many things I have been baking. Yet I did not want to spare the opportunity of sharing these amazingly easy seed bars, which have turned into one of my favourite snacks lately, when I take a tea/coffee break from work.

I am used to homemade granola bars but these are made entirely out of seeds, so if you have a nut allergy these might be for you. They are also gluten-free. Seeds have all sorts of good properties, which make them a healthy option, and though I usually use them for bread, they are incredibly tasty in these crunchy bars.

I always love a good homemade bread roll. And if cheese is included, all the better. I usually make my white bread rolls on weekends but today I wanted something that would surprise my family on Easter Day, as we shared our bread together at the table.

These cheese filled bread rolls are really simple and they can be made ahead. I chose a soft cheese so it could melt easily. You must be careful to pinch the dough properly when you insert the cheese otherwise the cheese may come out of the bread.

When I first posted my plum crumble cake I was not so sure that many would like plums in their cake as I do. But then, when I made the wine poached plum almond cake I definitely realized that we are a real bunch liking this fruit in our pudding.

The crazy thing about this cake is that you must surely have all the ingredients it takes in your pantry, apart from the fruit, which you could replace by any other stone fruit, though I would stick to plums here.

The cake calls for olive oil and I was surprised that it did not turn green as I expected! I love using oil in my cakes such as the lemon ricotta cake or the apple almond cake. I even use it for chocolate cakes! But I thought olive oil would be too strong and even dye it, but it was not the case. Together with the cream cheese it made a perfect fluffy sponge, so delicate and light you will not be able to stop till you finish the last bit.

This lemon raspberry crumble cake reminds me of all the good things we have had so far: lots of sunshine and fresh products. This cake is very similar to my lemon blueberry crumb loaf but way much tender. I think lemon works well with any red fruit and I love them all!

After a long working week we all deserve a pleasant Sunday morning, and if it starts with a great breakfast all the better. Each of us has a favourite routine for this special weekend meal and my choice is, as often as I can, to start the day with some good homemade bake.

These brown sugar cinnamon crumble buns are easy to make and you can leave them overnight in the fridge and bake them in the morning while you prepare your coffee or tea, or even a refreshing fruit juice.

As I mentioned previously, on my post for my cherry almond torte, I am a huge fan of this red fruit. And I go crazy when they are available in the market and buy as many as I can afford! So half of the ones I set aside went into my cake, and I decided to try this delicious cherry chocolate loaf with what was left.

I used a good quality cocoa powder, the one I had bought for the basic chocolate loaf and also some dark chocolate in chunks, to enhance the chocolate flavour and also because I like how those bits of pure chocolate work together with the fruit when you get a bite.

This tart is originally from Derbyshire and as the story tells, it started more as a pudding than a tart. There are many versions of how it was made in the beginning, but nowadays what prevails is the shortcrust-jam-frangipane recipe.

Apparently puff pastry was used in the beginning, but nowadays it is common to use shortcrust pastry, especially because it is apt to contain a filling such as frangipane, which needs a harder crust than puff pastry.

The jam part deserves a distinct chapter. Originally candied fruits or compote were mixed with a variety of citrus zest. Nowadays raspberry jam is considered as the traditional jam to be used in the tart.

For this recipe I used a shortcrust pastry that usually comes out well, to be sure of the outcome, and I used the fig jam I recently made, because I thought it would combine perfectly with the almonds.

A while ago I posted my turkish dried figs almonds and yoghurt cake, where I mentioned the fig tree in my parents house. This year the tree is overloaded with figs so I decided I could use them, other than eating them as fruit or in my baking, to make jam for the colder seasons.

Apparently there was a French lady (some versions say she actually was a Persian princess) in love with a Persian prince, who prepared a delicious pistachio cake with delicate spices and a fragrant saffron cream, which was meant to conquer his love.

This poor woman´s intention turned so bad, she ended up killing the prince. He died on the spot when he tasted the cake for he was terribly allergic to saffron. Not the kind of ending one expects for a sweet Valentine's story!

I am not going to risk it here, so I left the saffron out of the recipe! Pistachios are relevant as an ingredient in Persian cuisine and the cake is delicately spiced. The strawberries are a perfect match and I was happy to find some in the market, because they appear early in spring, and we are in mid summer by now, so what we get is the last of the season.